Justin Trudeau speaks with Liberal MP Andrew Leslie prior to a ceremony marking the one year anniversary of the attack on Parliament hill Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand)

It is necessary to remember Andrew Leslie was a star candidate of the Liberal Party. The convicted former commander of the Armed Forces of Canada, Leslie was hailed by Justin Trudeau as proof that the Liberals were pro-military. In 2013, when Trudeau appointed the 35-year veteran to an advisory committee on international affairs, he said so. Having Leslie nearby showed “a tremendous amount of support and pride for our Canadian forces”, Trudeau said.

Of course, that was back then, this is now.

There is no doubt that many people thought that Leslie was a candidate for a senior position in the cabinet. But it was not going to be. Trudeau had Leslie whipped, which is the parliamentary equivalent of a ward monitor. But he never gave Leslie a high position as a minister in the cabinet.

Unexpected changes

On Friday, CTV revealed that Leslie is preparing to testify in the sensational trial of Vice Admiral Mark Norman, and against the Trudeau government, no less.

There is no doubt that the shocking revelation is bad news for Trudeau. But it is good news for those of us who still believe in the rule of law. And it certainly suggests that Andrew Leslie deserved to be a minister.

Along with Leslie, other liberal parliamentarians are also disappearing. At this time, a total of 18 constituencies will not have an incumbent liberal on the ballot in the fall. That being the case, Scott Brison, whose sudden resignation gave Trudeau the pretext to get rid of Jody Wilson-Raybould, decided to spend more time with his family in Nova Scotia. The same with Bill Casey, Mark Eyking, Colin Fraser and Rodger Cuzner: all the liberal parliamentarians of Nova Scotia, all of whom choose discretion over value.

Oh, and Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott, the two ministers who resigned from Trudeau’s cabinet because they could no longer stand corruption and patronage. And who was then expelled from the bench by Trudeau for telling the truth to power? The liberals no more.